Although Senate isn't expected to act, legislation foreshadows likely fight ahead as Republicans gain control of both chambers and White House

House lawmakers approved a bill Thursday that would change the way federal regulators designate banks as being systemically important and thus subject to tougher oversight.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R., Mo.), passed 254-161. It would scrap the current threshold—institutions with $50 billion or more in assets—and instead let regulators determine whether a firm should be designated as a systemically important...